weather

Rhode Islanders saw the first accumulated snowfall of the season Monday morning. Less than an inch of snow fell across most parts of the state, and much of it melted within a few hours. Across the state most areas saw less than an inch of snow, with a full inch in parts of Washington County, and Cranston.

National Weather Service meteorologist Bill Simpson says Rhode Island could see more snow Wednesday into Thursday.

The storm, Hermine, which made landfall last week has been downgraded from a category one hurricane, to a tropical storm, to what's called a post-tropical cyclone. In general terms that just means a lower-strength event, said Rebecca Gould, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

"Really no different than a Nor’easter," said Gould. "You might get some showers, some rain, probably not until [Monday night] into [Tuesday]. Winds along the south coast will be a bit stronger than anywhere else. We’re expecting gusts up to about 30-35 mph. In Providence 25-30 mph gusts."

State Water Resources Board Chairwoman Susan Licardi says the drought advisory is meant to raise awareness about current conditions. State officials are urging Rhode Islanders to take precautionary measures to conserve water and to be aware of the dry conditions.

State recommendations include avoiding over-watering of lawns, and not watering yards during the hottest part of the day.

Providence reached 96 degrees Sunday. It's not a record -- that's 98 degrees -- but the humidity was unusually high. The National Weather Service issued heat advisories for several days last week.

On Monday, the state will get relief, according to Weather Service meteorologist Bob Thompson.

“[Monday] will be a little bit less humid, it’s still going to be very warm [Monday], we’re still probably going to see high temperatures near 90, but the humidity will be a little bit less," said Thompson.

“People can get heat exhaustion and things like that,” said Correia. “You don’t want to leave your children in the car, or your pets, and you just want to be careful and make sure to drink lots of water.”

After a stretch of warm weather, snow is on the horizon for Rhode Island. The National Weather Service is predicting a brief winter storm late in the weekend, and has issued a hazardous weather outlook for much of southern New England.

Weather Service meteorologist Bill Simpson says snowflakes will likely start falling late Saturday evening and last through Monday.

Temperatures broke records across southern New England, as the mercury plunged to subzero levels. In Providence it hit -9 degrees Fahrenheit Sunday during the early morning hours; breaking the previous record of -7 set in 1979, according to the National Weather Service.

The deep freeze is expected to break this week in Rhode Island. Temperatures will hover in the twenties across most of the state, and are expected to climb above freezing along the coast.

Temperatures will reach 50 degrees on Tuesday, which will feel practically balmy, after the harsh weekend.

Arctic temperatures are heading our way. The National Weather Service has issued a wind chill warning for Rhode Island, lasting through the weekend. Temperatures are forecast to plunge as low as 30 degrees below zero with the wind chill.

A cold front moving south from the upper Arctic is the reason for the falling temperatures, which are expected to reach the twenties on Friday before plunging into the teens and eventually single digits over the weekend.

National Weather Service meteorologist Alan Dunham said the air will feel even colder thanks to subzero wind chills.

Snow fell across Rhode Island Monday, just days after Friday's storm, which knocked out power to thousands of National Grid customers. The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning until 7 a.m. Tuesday. Many schools canceled a second day of classes, and municipalities are enforcing parking bans.

A dispatch from Newport, as the City by the Sea dug out from the first big storm of 2016.

About half of Block Island remained without power as of late Sunday morning due to the winter storm, which pummeled the island with wind gusts up to 75 miles per hour. Block Island also received the most snow in the state at 13 inches.

Block Island Power Company CEO Cliff McGinnes said two crews were working to restore primary power lines, and more help was on the way.

Some of this December's unseasonably warm weather was blamed on a weather event known as El Nino. Essentially, warm air in the Pacific is carried eastward warming temperatures in some areas, and cooling other parts of the country down.

The New York Times took a crack at explaining the phenomena with a handy video, made last year, when similarly warm weather struck the region.

If you’ve stepped outside at all this month, you already know the weather has been far from frightful. Forecasters are predicting a record-breaking Christmas, and the city’s warmest December.

In Providence, Christmas set a record last year at 63 degrees. Meteorologists believe we’ll approach that record this year, and maybe even beat it. Overall this is shaping up to be the warmest December on record in Providence, with an average temperature of 43 degrees.

High temperatures in Providence broke several records over the last two days, and meteorologists say White Christmas is exceedingly unlikely.

Around 11 p.m. Monday night, the mercury hit 61 degrees to beat out a record for that date of 59 degrees set in 1991.

Just a few hours later, at 4 a.m. Tuesday morning, temperatures climbed even higher, reaching 64 degrees. That was two degrees warmer than the record. It was even warmer than the same early morning hour this past July 4th.